Waiting
by Jade121
Summary: It was Christmas Eve and a child is waiting.


_Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Melinda Metz, various publishers and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended._

Original Story: **Waiting by: **DracoDew17, have author's permission to adapt story to fit Roswell. But check it out anyways.

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**Waiting

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She was waiting.

Her mama and papa had left her more than two weeks ago but they had promised her they would be back before Christmas. She worried about her parents when they left her, it made her tummy feel funny.

For a four year old, she was considered to be very small, albeit powerful. Noel had bright big blue eyes and dirty blonde hair that was most often worn down around her shoulders. She had a cupid's bow, and upturned nose and a very pretty pink mouth. Her papa always told her she was a very c___urious kitten_ but she didn't understand what he meant. After all, she had never thought there was anything wrong with pushing all buttons, even if the stove made funny noises.

Her mama said she'd been an astounding shock for her and her papa, she'd once heard Aunt Maria say she'd been a surprise for everybody! Even though she was only four, her young mind grasped the danger that seemed to surround the small group of people she considered her family. She'd often heard the adults mentioning a war. People were always rushing, to and fro.

Noel was often left in the care of either her Aunt Isabel, sometimes her Aunt Maria. It was Christmas Eve and she had taken it upon herself to do something she never did very well.

She was waiting.

Isabel Evans came downstairs and saw her niece huddled near the fireplace in the family room and not where she had tucked the child into bed several hours earlier. Taking care not to startle her, she slowly made her way beside the child and gracefully lowered herself to the floor Isabel took a moment to stare into the flames of the cracking fire, before looking at the forlorn little girl.

"Noel, it's late. What are you doing down here? Why are you not in bed?" Isabel softly questioned. _Did something wake you? Did your parent's reach out to you?_

"I'm waiting," she quietly replied. Noel didn't turn her gaze from the dancing flames.

Startled, Isabel didn't know what to say to that. She knew that they had not received word from either Tess or Michael. Everyone was troubled about that. However it was not a reason to panic, at least not yet. Isabel often wondered why they would leave their child in her care; she had no experience with children outside of Noel. It would devastate her if she had to break her niece's heart.

"What are you waiting for?" she whispered.

"For Santa Claus, who else would I be waiting for on Christmas Eve?" Noel answered her aunt as she stared at her with wide eyes.

"Oh and why are you waiting for him down here? You know, he won't come if you're still awake," Isabel answered as a small smile of relief graced her face. She slowly released the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"But papa said so. He told me that Santa comes down the chimney on Christmas Eve and leaves presents under the tree," Noel stated as her mouth turned down in a frown. "And mama agreed. She said that he will come 'cause I'm a good girl."

Chucking softly, she marveled at how much Noel was like her parents; with her mother's looks with her father's personality. She could almost envision Noel as a rebellious teenager."That still doesn't explain why you're awake. And not tucked in your bed," Isabel clarified, trying to make her tone strict but failing miserably.

"I got to change something," Noel stated vaguely as she drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly. Noel peered longingly into the flames.

"What do you have to change?" Isabel asked slightly confused.

Noel looked up at her aunt, her eyes bright and earnest as if she'd figured out the way to fix all her problems. "I have to tell Santa Claus not to bring me anything. I don't want any presents this year for Christmas."

Isabel looked at Noel as if she'd grown another head. "No presents?" she numbly questioned.

"No, I just want my mama and papa to be here when I wake up in the morning."

Isabel felt her heart sink into her stomach as tears stung her eyes. How could she possibly explain to a four-year-old that it wasn't in anybody's control to bring her parents back for Christmas? Swallowing the lump in her throat, Isabel gracefully rose from her spot. "Come on, kitten, it's past your bedtime. "

Noel allowed her aunt to lift her up. Her eyes started to droop as she laid her head against her aunt's shoulder. Reaching down, Isabel carefully picked up her niece's blanket and wrapped it around Noel.

The climb up the stairs was made in silence as she quietly cried for the injustice of this war; for all the children whose parents were taken away from them and for her niece whose parents had not yet made it home.

Isabel soon reached Noel's room, doing her best not to wake the slumbering child; she gently placed her on the bed. Tucking her blanket around her, she bent down and gently placed a soft kiss on Noel's nose. _I can only pray that your parents make it home. _Taking one last look at her, Isabel silently closed the door.

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When Noel woke up the next morning, the house was eerily quiet, especially for a holiday. She paid no attention it and flung off her covers as she jumped out of bed. Knowing that she had to go slow on the stairs so that she didn't fall, she grabbed a hold of the railing; at a snail's pace she made her way downstairs. Quietly she walked into the kitchen.

Everyone was gathered there. Noel immediately felt the tension in the air. At the table her Aunt Maria was quietly crying as her Uncle Kyle was gently comforting her. Aunt Isabel was passing around cups of hot chocolate as Grandpa Jim stared out of the window into the snowy weather outside. Uncle Max was pacing back and forth in front of the stove.

Noel knew without being told that something bad had happened. Everyone froze when she walked in. No one could look at her directly as she took her seat next to her Aunt Maria.

Her eyes were wide with worry as she looked up at her Uncle Max. "What happened?"

Max ran his hand through his hair, setting the already messy strands on end, and really looked at the small child in front of him. She was so young. Kneeling in front of the little girl, he took her tiny hands in his much larger ones.

"Noel, there was an attack."

Her pink mouth formed a perfect 'o' of surprise. "Attack on what?"

"The reconnaissance party your parents were involved in." Max took a deep breath and wished he was somewhere else. "Noel, we don't know for sure yet, but we don't think there were any survi- "

Before he got the last word out, the front door opened and closed. A voice called from the foyer.

"Hope we didn't miss the party, Maxwell."

Noel knew that voice. It was her papa!

Completely forgetting what Uncle Max was trying to tell her, she leaped up from her seat and scrambled towards the front of the house. Strong arms caught and lifted her up in a hug, and Noel buried her face in her papa's neck inhaling his scent once more. Her mother's contagious laugh sounded beside her and she was passed over to a smaller body to arms just as welcoming.

Michael's voice was happy as he turned to his wife. "I think Kitten missed us, Tess."

"Apparently," she replied over a tuft of curly blonde hair.

By then, the rest of the house had crammed into the small room to see the return of Noel's parents for themselves. Greetings and well-wishes of relief passed around the group until Jim voiced the thought everyone else was thinking.

"Where were you two? Everyone else in the reconnaissance party was killed. "

"We got out when the mission went south and spent the next five days hiding from Ki'var's search parties. We almost got caught around Colorado Springs, but we slipped past them just in time," Michael explained.

"And after that, we gunned it back here," Tess added as she dropped kisses on Noel's checks. A mischievous gleam entered her eyes, as she looked at the tree in the family room. "Now, what do you say about those presents?"

Noel squealed with excitement and she wriggled out of her mother's embrace before racing towards the family room, her parents trailed behind her as they laughed. The child's desperate plea from the night before forgotten in the wake of her happiness, but she didn't need to remember what she was going to ask Santa Claus.

As the rest of the group trickled back into the room and watched Noel go at her pile of presents, Isabel thanked whoever was responsible for this little Christmas miracle for both of them.

**Fin**


End file.
